Returning home after the holidays… is there really no place like home?

Posted Saturday, 17 January 2015

If you’ve been abroad for the holidays or just stayed with your family during the Christmas period, there’s a certain relief about being back in your own house and routine, no matter how mundane. Your own bed, your own car, you might have even missed your own mess…

Despite the relief however, you have to admit this is always accompanied by a little wistfulness for the comforts of being away. Here are some of the unfortunate realisations you may be finding out since returning…

1. If you want delicious food, you have to make it yourself. Let’s face it. We all indulge over the holidays and food just seemed to be coming out of the woodwork! Whether it’s going out for your work Christmas party, the hotel buffet or Mom’s special apple pie, our tummies were always full. Now that you’re back home, you’re back to planning your own meals, packing lunches and going shopping every… well, almost daily.

2. Messes don’t seem to clean themselves up. I’m sure my mom or the hotel cleaning staff clean it up much better than I do…

3. The 14 hour journey home seemed much easier to take on the way there than on the way back. Why does the overweight sweaty man always seem to sit next to me??!! And why are we still taking temperatures at the airport?!

4. You are reminded that your own fridge is a barren wasteland compared to your parents’ fridge or the hotel smorgasbord. Get shopping because nobody else is going to fill it for you.

5. The festive feeling is officially over. Even though the holidays are well over, it’s still easy to pretend that you’re still enjoying when you’re in a hotel or away from home. Now that you’re back, there’s no denying it anymore, the Christm

as tree is gone, the house is quiet and the humidity levels in Lagos probably don’t help much either.

6. There are so many responsibilities you forgot you had. ‘Oops- yes, I remember, I have a job.’ Remember you have work on Monday.

7. Packing is bad but unpacking is a whole lot worse. Good luck…

8. You need a day or two to recover- and do nothing. If you made the reckless decision to come back the day before you have to return to work, that was just well… die hard.

9. All the things you were putting off while you were away ‘because it’s the holidays after all’ are still there. Now there are 500 emails in your inbox instead of the usual five.

10. You have to go back to paying for everything by yourself. Yep, holiday is over people. Nobody is picking up the tab, not even Dad.

But despite all the exhaustion, responsibility and unwanted independence, it’s kinda nice to be back home… dust, humidity and mosquitoes included…